Red Dwyer’s Killing us Softly is a monumental book of heartfelt and practical advice for getting through and surviving the onslaught of cancer and death of a spouse.With the use of real time journal entries and blog posts, the author reaches out to readers in a unique way to guide them through all the emotions, responsibilities, and processes of being the caretaker of a marriage partner.Self-care and the care of the children are her primary focus, as she becomes the sole head of household and cup of love for her dying spouse and surviving family of nine children, three of whom are autistic.The book is supremely well-balanced in a way that has never been offered to the public before. The journal entries and blog posts draw us into her intimate life as she grieves privately yet exhibits her strength throughout and beyond the dying process. The focus is on helping the reader maneuver through the seemingly herculean feats of love and physical care which are assigned to the surviving spouse once the diagnosis of cancer is definite.From discussion on diagnosis and decisions to be made, through treatment and endgame, Red Dwyer holds our hand and shares with us her advice for not only surviving but also claiming our lives as we traverse this difficult and often hidden journey. She discusses the role of spirituality in the lives of the caretaking spouses, and the details of cancer treatment as a partner in the comfort of her loved one.Almost all of us are faced with treatment options at end of life, and many of us don’t face them until we are feeble and sick and not entirely in a place to make those decisions. While cancer has specific decisions to be made, Dwyer discusses the choices we all make when faced with extended treatment of a terminal illness or allowing nature to take its course.From diagnosis to hospice care, endgame and beyond, this author will be ultimately helpful to millions, who before this point have persevered and survived in silence.

Helping Keep the Power On

And Now For Something Completely Different.

Techno Failure

Many thanks to the talented folks at WordPress who supply the software which powers the blog on M3. Really. Those are sincere thanks. Today is one of those days you are (undoubtedly) glad there is no soundtrack to M3.

You see, there was a real post set to go live this morning. It is still sitting in the posts folder with the brilliant little “scheduled” in its status line. It refused to get out of the bed this morning and grace the pages with itself.

The stream of obscenities which poured forth at the revelation of this lazy little post would certainly have curled your toes. So, be grateful you were not privy to the harpy-like sounds while the post was disassembled and set for next Thursday.

Instead, this is now just a catch up (or as Miss V says, “ketchup”) day. Here are a few suggestions:

If you have not stopped by t0 meet GH Ellis, you are missing out on a ton of laughs. He and I had a great time. And do not be afraid of Frankie. He is in a sugar coma because of all the gingerbread zombies.

If you do not (or even if you do) have a manuscript ready or in the WIP folder, stop by the Flash in the Pan page. Everyone who sends me links to their entries (or sends the entries directly to the SIB) will make it into the book. The more the merrier! This is your personal invitation to flash me.

When I answered a question which made its way to the SIB, some of the newcomers found they had missed a big section of M3 which is hiding in the archives. If you have not already, stop by and tell me who you are.

Are you one of my stars? When was the last time you went stargazing? The Green Room is brimming with new M3 Readers. Some of the blogs who have recently joined the Green Room are new to the blogosphere and need some hearty welcoming to the neighborhood. Be sure to give the “thumbs up” to your fave blogs there, as the end of the month is going to see the new look for the Alumni Club and a new induction.

Have you been watching? Take a peek at the million word meter. It is time for a bit of celebration! Be ready because we will be celebrating a lot on the SEP this week. If you missed last week’s Saturday Evening Post, you may want to pass an eyeball over it. The changes to Welcome Home! and The Office are not something which is announced in the non-spam digest email.

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Have a wonderful evening. See you in the comments.

(c) Red Dwyer 2012Re-Blogging of this or any other post on Momma’s Money Mattersis expressly forbidden.Copyright and Privacy Policy availablein The Office.

I know! I was wondering how you posted every day at 8:00 p.m., on the dot, now I know! I wonder if mine has that feature… I’m going to see about that.MysteryCoach recently posted..~ 1:00 a.m. I’m Awake… ~

I’m sorry your post was lazy and uncooperative but I have to say ….oh wait., I really am sorry,… no buts. But…arrgghhhh I do love the catch up days… I feel very special like they are just for me. I know that is horribly conceited and it’s only a glitch in the goings on… I just like to find the bright side of things … and I kinda needed a something special today…
Love ya
LizzieLizzie Cracked recently posted..Insanity or Optimism? Mid-Afternoon Mental Moment

and rock on with the half way there on the million words !!! – sorry I meant to add that above… then I didn’t and I I saw Binky which had me giggling a little because its the glass half full or empty and look at me post title… hehee I am so easily amused… on to catch up!Lizzie Cracked recently posted..Insanity or Optimism? Mid-Afternoon Mental Moment

Glad it made you feel special! Everyone needs a day just to sift through what they may have missed. Almost glad it did not cooperate, as I was in no place to field comments today. I was very glad to have a large dose of sunshine this morning. Even more glad I did not find out about the failure until very late in the day. It would have ruined the good feeling xxx

Hey at least when you add a posting it stays on your Space for good, whereas me, I add scripts and extra pages only to obliterate them at a later time, sometimes within days of adding them so I guess that I am more eccentric than at first thought.

We can all look forward to reading it when it appears so all is not lost and in the meantime you will be adding many more postings, and with your readership multiplying there will be lots of peeps to read them too, which is really great.

He’s doing his usual. He started blogging, so it should get very interesting with dueling laptops. Methinks I can out WP him, maybe just a tad. It is getting so busy, but I love the excitement. All of it Hopefully, the power will stay on long enough tonight to be able to play through the Follies. It is storming here. Great weather to not be on the computer. Hmm… *wicked giggles*